A couple or three years back, I got a start-up kit for home brewing. I was given a can of Brew Canada Canadian Red Beer to get me started. In the end, I didn't much care for the taste, and the carbonation didn't really work. Needless to say, I was disheartened.
When I had my IPA epiphany this summer with a few beers, I thought... I wonder if there is such a thing in town as a good, hoppy, west-coast style IPA home brew kit. Well, I went to a local brew shop and asked if he had such a thing. To my happy surprise, he said he basically had exactly what I was looking for. Now... I don't think it will be as hoppy as I want, nor do I think it will be as bitter as I like an IPA to be (I know it won't be, from the specs on it), but it was the best I could get. Apparently, Festa Brew kits are fantastic. The press online about 'em is pretty glowing. The fellow at the store makes them sound idiot-proof-dead-easy to make, and says they only form about 5% of the sediment other products do, because it's an all-grain kit. On all fronts, I can't wait to see if he's right. The stuff is sold out in different places in the Maritimes, and he has less than half of what he did last week, so... that should tell me something. Plus, this West Coast IPA kit only comes out
once a year, so... talk about lucky timing.
Anyhoo... wish me luck. I'm all paranoid and anal about it, thinking I'm not doing everything right, or sanitizing right, or that I'm contaminating something, or that I'm too careful about it, or not careful enough... I just hope the friggin' thing works. I'm looking forward to my first good batch of home-brewed beer.
When I had my IPA epiphany this summer with a few beers, I thought... I wonder if there is such a thing in town as a good, hoppy, west-coast style IPA home brew kit. Well, I went to a local brew shop and asked if he had such a thing. To my happy surprise, he said he basically had exactly what I was looking for. Now... I don't think it will be as hoppy as I want, nor do I think it will be as bitter as I like an IPA to be (I know it won't be, from the specs on it), but it was the best I could get. Apparently, Festa Brew kits are fantastic. The press online about 'em is pretty glowing. The fellow at the store makes them sound idiot-proof-dead-easy to make, and says they only form about 5% of the sediment other products do, because it's an all-grain kit. On all fronts, I can't wait to see if he's right. The stuff is sold out in different places in the Maritimes, and he has less than half of what he did last week, so... that should tell me something. Plus, this West Coast IPA kit only comes outonce a year, so... talk about lucky timing.
Anyhoo... wish me luck. I'm all paranoid and anal about it, thinking I'm not doing everything right, or sanitizing right, or that I'm contaminating something, or that I'm too careful about it, or not careful enough... I just hope the friggin' thing works. I'm looking forward to my first good batch of home-brewed beer.